


Changing Fate

by Truth



Category: RG Veda
Genre: Cannibalism, Death, M/M, Sex, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2004-07-05
Updated: 2004-07-05
Packaged: 2017-10-14 06:40:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/146455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Truth/pseuds/Truth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What passed between Taishakuten and Ashura-ou that led to all that came after.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Changing Fate

During daylight hours, the tall, pillared halls of the palace of the King of the Gods tended to echo with song, conversation and ringing laughter. At night, however, the marbled passages were silent, the peace only occasionally broken by the movement of guards or the odd nighttime wanderer.

This night’s tranquility was rudely shattered by the sound of a door closing and a woman’s voice. “My lord! Ashura-oh, come back! Please, lord!”

Swift footsteps, slippered feet against stone, and a tall figure moved rapidly through the heavy shadows and down the darkened corridor. Ashura-oh, God of War, moved without heed for nighttime wanderers or other witnesses. The past held little now but regrets and the future unfolded before him in stark, horrible detail every time he closed his eyes. He had nothing but the present to hold to and, apparently heedless of what any whose path he crossed might think, he intended to see to it that this present would change the future.

Not his own future, it was far too late for that…

… but the future of his only child and of the world.

Between one corridor and the next, Ashura-oh disappeared, his footsteps falling suddenly silent and his robed form no longer visible in the silvered moonlight.

**

It was Ashura-oh that the other gods spoke of, in tones that varied from respect to fear. It was Ashura-oh who stood tall and silent at the shoulder of his King. It was Ashura-oh who brought terror and triumph to the field of battle.

Taishak-ten had always admired the God of War, and not simply because of his prowess on the field of battle. Ashura-oh was always so calm, so confident and unyielding.

So beautiful.

Taishak-ten had spent the evening alone, a bottle of wine and the trickle of water being his only companions. The night passed slowly as he drank, staring into the falling waters of the small fountain in the chambers that he was currently occupying in the palace of the King. The white-haired god had much to think about, not the least of which being the surprising events of that afternoon.

Ashura-oh of the long, dark hair and the delicately pointed ears, the beautiful, dark eyes that held something old and wary in their depths - Ashura-oh had been alone for once, and Taishak-ten had seized his chance. A teasing pretext to speak to the God of War, to hear the beautiful, dark voice say his name even once….

And those dark eyes had turned to his, the response to his gibe coming from a raw, bleeding place within the War God’s soul, “Taishak-ten, do you believe that fate can be changed?”

It had stopped him in his tracks. Taishak-ten was a warrior as well, but his hair was flowing silver, his demeanor brash and he lacked Ashura-oh’s silent sense of utter, focused reliance. Staring into those eyes, knowing a wounded creature when he saw it, Taishak-ten did not even attempt to resist the temptation laid out before him. “If it would bring me what I want, I would move the stars themselves from their orbits.”

It was strange to watch the knowledge pass between them, dawning awareness moving behind Ashura-oh’s eyes even as he spoke, the words falling between them as if propelled by the very destiny he was attempting to deny. “Will you lend me your strength, then, to change the course of the stars?”

“And if I do, will that give me what _I_ want?” Taishak-ten was still teasing, even with the weight of what he was about to do, the impossible thing that he wanted pressing down upon him. He stepped more closely forward, standing far too close for courtesy or protocol and waited for Ashura-oh’s response.

“What do you want?” Never flinching, dark purpose drawing around him almost like the armor he wore to battle, Ashura-oh brought his chin up and stared at the other god.

As if there had ever been any doubt as to what he wanted. Taishak-ten brought his hand up, catching a piece of the fine, dark hair and examining it closely before allowing it to slip between his fingers. “… you.”

The web of fate wrapping around them both, drawing them tightly together… the knowledge could be seen written large across the fine-boned face only inches from his own. There was no hesitation at all as Ashura-oh met his intense gaze. “If fate can be changed.”

There had been no other words spoken, Ashura-oh drawing away and disappearing in the direction of his own quarters as a party of courtiers had entered the passage, and Taishak-ten had been left to wonder.

He wondered still, letting his fingers break the surface of the pool, watching the ripples caused by the falling water as they broke and reformed against the barrier of his hand. ‘If destiny is mutable and fate can be changed….’

Ashura-oh wanted that, wanted it with a desperate hopelessness that burned. Taishak-ten had seen it. Somewhere inside he could feel a growing, answering compulsion. He would find a way to change fate, and his resolution suddenly had less to do with the repeated fantasies of having the reserved god of war splayed wantonly across his bed and everything to do with eradicating that look of desperate fear.

‘For you, I would change everything.’

**

Ashura-oh reappeared in the small courtyard closest to the quarters of the Storm God, forcing the knotted tension of his body to subside and letting the gentle sound of falling water soothe him. It wasn’t until he had actually stepped into the moonlit space that he realized he was not alone.

Taishak-ten was known for his cool demeanor, his hauteur and his love of conflict. His public appearance catered to that, long hair over cloak and armor and an arrogant smile as edged as his sword. Seated on the edge of the fountain, however, was an entirely different creature. The white hair that normally brushed booted ankles despite a loose tie, fell to the pavement, another silver streak of moonlight against the dark stones. A white night robe fell open to reveal an almost equally pale, muscled chest and the expression on the sharply featured face was almost sad.

It gave Ashura-oh pause, causing him to wonder what sort of creature he had allied himself with. He had been counting on Taishak-ten’s ruthlessness.

Quiet footfalls were just barely audible above sound of falling water and Taishak-ten did not turn as a slender, calloused hand closed over his wrist.

“You’re far from your chambers, Lord.” Taishak-ten allowed his hand to be drawn from the water, turning at last to face his visitor as drops of cool water slid down his fingers to pool against Ashura-oh’s fingers. “To what do I owe the honor of your presence at this late hour?”

The slightly mocking smile was a far cry from the expression which the Storm God had been wearing before his interruption and Ashura-oh wondered for an instant which face showed the truth. Taishak-ten’s words he disregarded altogether. They had danced this tune earlier in the day and he had no desire to tread the same measure a second time. He knew that his own face showed little; endless practice allowing him to keep the façade between them despite his previous slip. “We had an agreement.”

Taishak-ten’s smile slipped slightly at Ashura-oh’s directness. Circumlocution and double-speak were the tools of the Court of the Heavens where everything had a hidden meaning and an exorbitant price. The stakes here were far higher than he’d imagined, obviously, and he recognized the measuring look on that pale, calm face.

“We did.” Taishak-ten rose to his feet, freeing his wrist as he moved. “Allow me to welcome you to my quarters then, Ashura-oh. We have much to discuss.”

The long, silk hangings which provided privacy to the Storm God were released from their hooks, sliding downward to puddle on the floor as Taishak-ten ushered Ashura-oh to his bed.

There was no discussion, nor attempt at one. Ashura-oh was as direct here as he had been by the fountain, shrugging easily out of the long, sleeping robe and letting it slide to the floor.

Taishak-ten no longer cared what price he would have to pay in exchange for the privilege of having the War God in his bed. He knew and had known for a long time that he would do anything to have Ashura-oh beneath his hands and to hear that low, clear voice let go of its calm reserve and cry out. There was a passion about Ashura-oh that could almost be tasted, a force that he kept reined sharply in and spent only on the field of battle.

No one had any illusions about the War God’s relationship with his wife.

To bring that burning passion to the surface, to have Ashura-oh spend it in his bed, was a fantasy that Taishak-ten had held since the first time he had seen the armored god on the field of battle, teeth bared and eyes burning.

He stepped forward to bury his hands in the thick, dark hair, leaning in to catch Ashura-oh’s mouth in a kiss that spoke of an almost desperate hunger. Taishak-ten’s passion was that of a starving man who had just been offered a place at the table of a king, and he spent it recklessly in that first, devouring kiss.

Ashura-oh’s mouth moved easily against his, showing willingness and the faintest edge of answering desperation. Taishak-ten was under no illusions as to the source of that tearing emotion. Ashura-oh was not here to slake some long-hidden passion… he was here to buy the Storm God’s cooperation.

‘It doesn’t matter,’ as sword-calloused hands pushed his own robe from his shoulders, Taishak-ten closed his eyes, savoring what little he would be allowed to hold. ‘I will take your pain and sorrow from you. I will change the flow of destiny itself for you. I will pay whatever cost you ask of me.’

Eyes opened as Ashura-oh’s hands stroked against his skin and Taishak-ten turned, drawing the War God fully into his bed. ‘I would have you enjoy this, even if it is not what you would have chosen. I will give you everything that I can.’

It was much later that Ashura-oh pulled himself slowly upright, the dull ache somewhere inside having little to do with the physical aspect of what had just passed between them in the Storm God’s bed. Taishak-ten had risen a few moments before and returned now, again wrapped in his own robe, Ashura-oh’s in his arms. Almost mechanically, Ashura-oh allowed the younger god to slide the robe over his shoulders as Taishak-ten settled onto the bed beside him. In an echo of his own, earlier directness, the deep voice murmured, “What would you have of me, Ashura-oh? Ask, and I will give it to you.”

‘You’ve already given me everything that you are,’ Ashura-oh thought dully, feeling another dark stab of pain. “I want you to start a war, Taishak-ten.”

The sharply handsome face showed no surprise, eyes remaining intently fixed on his own. “For you, I would throw down the king of heaven.”

“Yes.”

This was the crux and Ashura-oh waited, watching the thoughts and realizations pass across Taishak-ten’s face.

“You wish me to rebel.” It wasn’t a question. “To raise an army against the king of heaven. To bring battle to these halls and to make war… on _you_.”

Ashura-oh looked away as pale fingers threaded themselves in the darkness of his hair. “I need a new king of the gods, someone with power and passion. I need someone who can do what must be done to prevent the fall of heaven itself.”

To raise an army that could defeat the armies of Ashura-oh himself would be a task of incredible magnitude. To usurp the throne of heaven would take a very special sort of power and control. Taishak-ten could still _feel_ the heat and tightness of the War God’s body, hear that low voice moan with a passion and a driven need that had echoed everything he’d ever wanted from Ashura-oh.

“You want me to overthrow the order of the heavens and rule….” Taishak-ten looked down at the dark strands in his hand and bent slightly to brush his lips against them. “I promised you anything. If this is your desire, I will do this thing for you.”

Ashura-oh gave him a bleak smile, tipping his head to look up again. “It will not end there.”

Taishak-ten laughed, but there was already something in his eyes, something hungry as he took Ashura-oh’s want, his need, and made it his own. “Will you come to my bed again, Lord Ashura-oh? When I have my plans in order, will you then tell me the rest?”

Treachery and war, bought with nothing more than the spreading of his legs, and Ashura-oh felt the first twisted rush of self-disgust. He dropped his gaze again, staring across the room where his eyes fell upon a mirror.

He sat upon the bed, surrounded by silk and luxury, the rich red of his robe and the darkness of his hair setting him in stark relief against the white of the sheets and hanging silks of the bed. Beside him, kneeling, one hand still holding a dark lock of his hair, was the stark white perfection of the young Storm God.

It was the look in Taishak-ten’s eyes that caught Ashura-oh and gripped him with something like horror. ‘He would do this even if I had never come here. He will break every vow and bring down the very throne of heaven… he _will_ change the future. And the price I will ask of him will cost him far more than he can truly afford.’ Bowing his head again, Ashura-oh fought the further tightening of his gut. ‘I have just destroyed him… and I still cannot turn back.’

The pale hand tugged on his hair and he looked up to encounter quite a different look, although this time he did not wonder which showed the true face of the Storm God. “There will be rebellion,” he promised, eyes gleaming. “And I will be king of heaven.”

**

Taishak-ten was a tyrant. He ruled the heavens with an iron fist, showing pity and compassion to none. He took the traitorous wife of Ashura-oh to his bed, made her his queen and she bore him a son….

No one speaks of the other child she bore, the War God’s child that she tried to murder herself and now sleeps, hidden eternally.

The new King ruled with an iron fist and only smiled when engaging in a particularly cruel diversion. He was a creature of cold fury, as destructive and glorious as the storms which obeyed him.

There had been no witnesses to the final battle before Taishak-ten took the king’s head. No one saw the act which brought him his third eye, the cursed mark of those who had done something so unspeakable that they would forever bear the brand upon their brow.

The battle between Ashura-oh and Taishak-ten had caused the heavens themselves to shake, two unbendable gods opposing each other completely. Ashura-oh had paid for his loyalty with his life, and Taishak-ten had come away streaked with blood and with cold murder in his eyes.

 _’I must die, Taishak-ten… and you must kill me.’_

The king slept alone and none knew of his dreams, kneeling in a marble corridor, embracing an armor clad figure with long dark hair as he struggled for breath.

 _’You will need strength… to stand against him. My strength, the strength of my blood.’_

Eyes already losing focus, the War God tried to smile up at his killer and nearly succeeded.

 _’You will eat of my flesh, Taishak-ten… you will gain my strength. You will stand against my child, and you will not let the heavens be destroyed._.

**

Taishak-ten wore the mark on his brow with a dark pride. The enemy he had conquered that day was himself.

“There is no pain greater than living without the one that you love.”

The heavens would not fall.

Taishak-ten’s heart was empty. The thing which moved and breathed and strove against fate was not moved by blood and bone, but by the strength of a single promise.

**

“I would do anything for you.”

Warm golden eyes and a genuine smile at last, turning the calm, stoic mask of the War God into something alive and free and, finally, without fear.

 _’Then live.’_

With the bitter, dark taste of blood on his tongue, Taishak-ten had made his way from that place, leaving behind the broken, torn body of his enemy and his lover. The pain of the third eye now visible on his brow was nothing compared to the cold, broken emptiness of his heart.

“For you alone… I would do even that.”


End file.
